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Abstract
| Argument: |
October 8-9, 1956
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| Decision: |
Monday, June 17, 1957 |
| Issues: |
First Amendment, Federal Internal Security Legislation |
| Categories: |
criminal, first amendment, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, freedom of the press |
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Advocates
| Augustin Donovan |
(Argued the cause for the petitioners in Richmond v. United States) |
| Robert W. Kenny |
(Argued the cause for the petitioner in Schneiderman v. United States) |
| Ben Margolis |
(Argued the cause for the petitioners in Yates v. United States) |
| Philip R. Monahan |
(Argued the cause for the United States) |
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Facts of the Case
Fourteen leaders of the Communist Party in the state of California were tried and convicted under the Smith Act. That Act prohibited willfully and knowingly conspiring to teach and advocate the overthrow of the government by force. This case was decided in conjunction with Richmond v. United States and Schneiderman v. United States.
Question
Did the Smith Act violate the First Amendment?
Conclusion
In a 6-to-1 decision, the Court reversed the convictions and remanded the cases to a District Court for retrial. The Court interpreted the Smith Act in the following manner: First, the term "organize" was construed to mean the creation of a new organization, making the Act inapplicable to subsequent organizational acts. Second, the Court drew a distinction between the "advocacy and teaching of forcible overthrow as an abstract principle" and the "advocacy and teaching of concrete action for the forcible overthrow of the Government." The Court recognized that instances of speech that amounted to "advocacy of action" were "few and far between."
